The Democratic Republic of Congo has recorded 9,066 confirmed Ebola cases and 4,381 deaths, as health workers struggle to contain the outbreak across multiple hotspots, government data showed on Tuesday.
The outbreak, caused by the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus, was declared in May and has become the largest and deadliest in the country’s history, surpassing the 2018 to 2020 epidemic.
The strain currently has no approved vaccine or specific treatment, adding to the challenges facing health authorities as they work to limit transmission and provide care for infected people.
According to the World Health Organization, the outbreak is now the second largest globally, behind the 2014 to 2016 West African epidemic, which infected more than 28,600 people and killed over 11,000 across Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
The outbreak has also raised regional concerns. Uganda recorded 20 cases and two deaths earlier this year but was declared Ebola free in August.
Kenya confirmed its first imported case last week involving a Kenyan national who travelled from Congo through Uganda and later died in Nairobi.
The spread across national borders has increased concerns about surveillance and screening at regional entry points as authorities work to prevent further transmission.
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